Lord Of The Rings Star Elijah Wood Crashed A Couple's Wedding ... In Hobbiton

There's something special about die-hard movie fans throwing a themed wedding. The event becomes even more memorable when an original cast member drops in to wish the happy couple well on their future life. That fan wish became an unexpected reality for two love birds getting married in a wedding ceremony staged on the Hobbiton set of Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" films in Waikato, New Zealand, when none other than Elijah Wood arrived to say hello. A viral clip (via X Tolkien community thread @TolkienWorldG) shows the nuptials taking place in front of Bag End as the Frodo actor walked right into sight, delighting the about-to-be-newlyweds with an unforgettable memory for their special day.

The entire experience was idyllic. Wood walked down the aisle and took pictures with the happy couple. As if on queue, Hobbit music from Peter Jackson's iconic trilogy started playing. Wood made a few comments, the audience laughed, he took another picture with the officiant, hugged the photographer, and ran off to the jubilant adulation of the crowd.

The comments surrounding the video are as entertaining as the clip itself. Many brought up Wood's already well-established willingness to interact with fans and give them unique, memorable, and authentic interactions. User @_Oilbaf_ commented, "Missed opportunity for him to be the best ring bearer of all time." (To be fair, the groom's sister apparently gave a stand-out performance delivering the rings dressed as Gollum.) User @urbanmyths joked, "Elijah Wood isn't crash[ing] the wedding, they're standing in front of his house." The entire scene was a fun moment for a happy couple, and a reminder of the enduring impact that Jackson's Middle-earth trilogy has had on fans for generations now.

The obvious follow-up question to the viral clip is, why is Elijah Wood crashing weddings on retired movie sets in New Zealand? We know this is the case thanks to local news outlet 1 News, which confirmed the movie-set location. The source added that Elijah Wood was in the vicinity because he "was visiting the Waikato movie set while in New Zealand for the Armageddon Expo and happened to be touring the grounds as Sharik and Jessica Burgess-Stride were tying the knot." 

The pop culture event is a great reason to bring the Middle-earth actor to the Land of the Long White Cloud, and the story might end there. But could there be more to the visit? It's pure speculation, but the timing of Wood's presence on the island is suspiciously close to Andy Serkis' recent arrival in the country to head up the upcoming "Hunt for Gollum" film. Serkis confirmed (via Metro) in early September that he was returning to the country that had become synonymous with Tolkien's world to get the production in motion.

At the same time, Ian McKellen recently confirmed that Frodo will be in the movie (along with the actor's own character, Gandalf), and Wood shared at another fan con that he's read the script, it's really good, and it's bringing a lot of the OG crew back together again. Perhaps Wood's wedding-crashing shenanigans have nothing to do with the upcoming project. Then again, could his presence in NZ extend beyond attending a fan con? The stars could be aligning over the distant island in the southern hemisphere, especially with buzz building around the potential return of other characters, like Viggo Mortensen's Aragorn, his Elvish Wife, Arwen (Liv Tyler), and a de-aged by AI Legolas.

Bringing back a character like Gandalf or Aragorn for "The Hunt for Gollum" makes sense. The story takes place between "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings," and it centers on a lengthy search by the Ranger and the Wizard to capture Gollum once he leaves the Misty Mountains in search of his precious. Characters like Legolas and Arwen could easily fit in, as they have side stories that overlap neatly with the timeline. But what about Frodo? How does he fit into the puzzle?

There isn't a direct, Tolkien-written connection for the Hobbit, but Frodo's backstory does have some points that could connect to the larger "Hunt for Gollum" story. The obvious one is the time jump between when he gets the One Ring after Bilbo's birthday party and when he sets out on his quest. In the movies, this seems to be a relatively short period. No one ages, and time is unclear. In the books, though, there is a 17-year time lapse between the two events. During that time, Frodo enjoys his bachelor life living in Bag End, that is, until Gandalf shows up and spoils the fun by explaining how Gollum has been searching for the One Ring. It isn't in the center of the story, but there's definitely potential to work Frodo into the mix there.

One other, non-canon option could be possible with a little bit of artistic license. (Something Peter Jackson showed he's willing to do when he made the original trilogy.) There is a popular fan theory that suggests Frodo's parents were murdered by Gollum. Let me stress, this is not canon at all. But it could be a way to work the future ringbearer into the story more heavily.